PointStar Hopes to Fuel Indonesia Government’s 5.2% Growth Target for 2024

Jakarta, March 28, 2024 — In 2024, the retail sector in Indonesia is poised to encounter substantial challenges, with shifts in consumption patterns, operational constraints, and the imperative of growth collectively influencing business performance.

With decreasing consumer spending power and increasing business costs, retail companies must strengthen their foundations through digital transformation to improve business visibility and operational efficiency. Data from the Ministry of Trade regarding trade performance in 2023 provide optimism for achieving a higher economic growth rate of 5.20% in 2024.

Cognisant of this, PointStar Indonesia and PointStar Consulting recently organised the ‘Iftar Insights: Understand Retail Business Continuity & Operational Challenges During Ramadan’ event, which brought together leaders from the corporate and tech worlds to share their insights and pearls of wisdom on navigating this challenging business environment.

PointStar is a leading cloud-based solution provider in Asia. It enables the digitalisation and integration of all organisational business processes, from finance and accounting to sales operations, procurement, manufacturing, and supply chains.

In his keynote address at this event, Mr Septo Soepriyanto, the Director of Trade Business Development at the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia, said that the key to propelling the retail and commerce world lies in the collaboration and synergies established with industry leaders, governments, and corporations like PointStar, which helps businesses with their digital transformation initiatives.

“The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia is undergoing structural transformations, with priority being placed on domestic consumption. Integration that enables cross-territorial trade is equally important as it lays down solid foundations for the growth of our economy,” said Mr Septo.

Septo said the Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision is the shared vision for the Indonesian populace and is aimed at making Indonesia a developed and prosperous archipelago by 2045. “PointStar provides cloud solutions that we believe will boost our Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision through the integration of the whole business process from human resources, manufacturing, and accounting and finance. These solutions ensure data is seamlessly available in real-time and will increase collaboration and productivity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Justin Lee, CEO of PointStar, said: “Amid economic uncertainty characterised by inflation, digital transformation is the key to providing stakeholders with real-time information. Thus, stakeholders can make informed decisions to mitigate the negative impact on the retail industry. We are committed to providing innovative and leading technology solutions to help retail companies meet these challenges.”

“PointStar continuously provides business owners, especially retailers, with the experiences and know-how they need when they start their digital transformation journey. PointStar helps many businesses adopt cloud-based solutions such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), process automation, Big Data, office productivity, and business intelligence while developing its own AI capability in partnership with leading solutions,” he added.

“The scalability and flexibility of PointStar’s overall cloud-based digital solution also adapts to company needs so that it can evolve as the business grows. Data can flow seamlessly between departments and business functions, increasing workforce productivity and business efficiency. This allows organisations to stay relevant and competitive in a rapidly changing market.”

One of the distinguished speakers at this event was Roy N. Mandey, chairman of the Indonesia Retail Association (APRINDO). He shared his experience and key insights from the retail world.

“The economic growth rate of 5.20% is expected to lift retail businesses in Indonesia by 60%, provided external factors such as politics remain conducive to growth. The geopolitical situation is pertinent because any escalation can affect retail growth due to contributing factors such as increased oil prices. APRINDO remains optimistic that our retail targets will be met,” said Roy.

“I would like to record my appreciation to PointStar for the giant leaps it has taken to organise this event to promote retail growth. Many thanks to Justin Lee and William Chaylis (Director of PointStar Consulting). PointStar’s active role in promoting our retail growth efforts reflects their commitment to the industry and empowers business owners to leverage technology to address their challenges.”

Various speakers, including industry experts and tech leaders, shared valuable insights on how businesses can leverage technology to stay ahead of the curve. One prominent solution provider was Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud computing services offered by Google. It provides a wide range of infrastructure and platform services that enable users to build, deploy, and manage applications and websites on Google’s infrastructure. GCP includes computing power (virtual machines, containers), storage options (databases, object storage), networking capabilities, big data analytics, machine learning, and more. GCP is known for its scalability, performance, and security features, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes looking to leverage cloud technology.

Digital transformation will not only help retail companies overcome operational challenges during the month of Ramadan, but also increase their competitiveness in facing the uncertain economic situation in 2024. As a country with great economic growth potential, Indonesia has the opportunity to become a leader in digital transformation in Southeast Asia.